By Blake Tommey Estera loves to read. In her fifth-grade class at the Ruth School, Estera’s favorite subject by far is the Romanian language, and she lives to devour children’s novels. But some of her most cherished stories are the…
Young ministers learn the pastor’s delicate balance
Elijah Zehyoue has been building toward ministry for nearly a decade. Growing up in the church in Baton Rouge, La., he began discerning God’s call as a 16-year-old. He graduated from Morehouse College as part of the Phi Beta Kappa…
World’s restoration is focus of young adult gathering
By Blake Tommey In the field of social psychology, scholars have coined a technical term known as plausibility structure. Among those who seek to understand how people’s thoughts, feelings and behaviors are influenced by others, plausibility structure is essentially a…
Opening doors — front and back — to minister
By Blake Tommey At the Center for Faith and Leadership in Fredericksburg, Va., directors Carey and Gannon Sims have a familiar saying: “Our front door is open to the campus and our back door opens to the community.” And while…
In grappling with autism, from surviving to thriving
We feel alienated. We’re scared to tell you about our son’s ASD. We don’t want you to treat our daughter any differently than other kids. Sometimes we don’t understand our child’s behavior any more than you do. We feel judged….
S.C. churches join ranks to minimize challenges, multiply ministry
By Blake Tommey The day Jack Couch realized that the church he founded and pastored for 20 years wasn’t going to survive any longer, he could only see death. Clearview Baptist Church had lost the critical mass of families and…
Richmond grateful for growth of Burmese refugee ministry
By Blake Tommey “When these kinds of things happen in my life, things that are so clearly filled with more beauty or redemption or reconciliation than my cranky personality and stony heart could ever manufacture on their own, I just…
Here am I, send me … anywhere but the ministry
By Blake Tommey If you grew up in a Baptist church during the 20th century, you can probably recite these words by heart: “As we sing our final hymn, you are invited to make a public profession of faith, to…